A review of “A Changing Marriage” by Susan Kietzman
Rating: 3 stars
For college kids like us caught up in hookups and one-night stands, marriage probably isn’t something at the forefront of our minds. This predictable, though true to life, book may either bore you to tears or open your eyes to how your choices now have the power to affect your future happiness.
“A Changing Marriage” by Susan Kietzman is a love story between two people who met in college and married quickly thereafter. After having children, their marriage quickly spiraled into sarcastic bickering and resentment.
The opening of the novel accurately captures college life and later explores the hardships of choosing between two men, as well as the constant consideration of whether life would have been better had she chosen differently.
The midsection of the book describes main character Karen’s daily life in intimate diary-like detail. It is quickly obvious to the reader that Karen and her husband Bob’s marriage is not a happy one and their equally selfish demeanors begin to overshadow their love for each other. Once Bob’s life became consumed with work and promotions and their children are old enough to attend school, Karen uses her newfound freedom to join a women’s tennis group and to lunch and shop with her wealthy girlfriends. She becomes enveloped in her new life where she flaunts her ability to do what she wants.
While motherhood is undoubtedly strenuous and Bob’s continual absence on business trips frustrating, Karen becomes enveloped in the socialite scene and begins to lose her pride and motivation. Her good friend Sarah, whom she met at the playground when the children were younger, helps her realize that she might want more from life. In the last third of the book, an interesting part of the plot develops, changing Karen’s repetitive lifestyle for the better.
While the ending is somewhat unsurprising, lessons are learned and the author’s purpose is clear that a marriage, or any relationship for that matter, is a two-way street and thrives on listening to one another, caring, understanding and compromise.
Though Kietzman’s book is overly detailed at times, the general theme and message of the book is essential for anyone looking to forge a long-lasting relationship. Though most people have heard what it takes to make a marriage work, it is valuable to have the opportunity to take a firsthand look at the ups and downs of day-to-day matrimonial life and the consequences of a failed marriage. Published just last month, “A Changing Marriage” is full of themes like love at first sight, temptation, self-absorption and the ever-present life question, “What if?” It presents an overall thorough and honest look at married life.
Leave a Reply